Sarah, Duchess of York is the daughter of Major Ronald Ferguson and Susan Mary Wright. She was born on the 15th October 1959 in London.

Her parents divorced when Sarah was 13 years-old. She grew up in Hampshire with her father and older sister, as her mother re-married an Argentinean polo player and moved to Argentina.

Major Ferguson also re-married and had three more children with his second wife.

Though Sarah was considered a commoner by birth, she had aristocratic ancestry and described her family as "old money".

Sarah married Prince Andrew after reigniting their acquaintance at Royal Ascot. They had previously met a number of Polo competitions.

Permission to marry was granted by Queen Elizabeth II and the pair duly married on 23rd july 1986. As wife of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Sarah was immediately afforded the style her Royal Highness, The Duchess of York. She also became a princess of the United Kingdom.

Though her marriage to Andrew appeared strong, the couple separated and eventually divorced in 1996. The split was amicable and the pair remained friends, sharing the custody of thier two young daughters.

Her divorce meant that the Duchess lost her title of Princess but she retained the style Duchess of York (although she would lose this if she were to remarry).

After the divorce Sarah, Duchess of York, eschewed a large settlement in the hope of maintaining cordial relationships with the Royal Family. In order to earn her own money, she became a media personality in America and was named as spokesperson for Weight Watchers U.S. after losing the excess weight she piled on during her divorce.

The Duchess of York's repuation has been mired by scandal as she was filmed accepting cash for introducing business associated to Prince Andrew. His camp denied the Prince was in on the deal.